Sunday, May 13, 2018

Ian turns 42

Forty two inches! It wasn't even a year ago that he hit the 40" line. Now he's up to the next big level for Disney rides!
According to the Disneyland website, there are 5 brand new things he can do now that he's topped that mark.

Goofy's Sky School

Grizzly River Run

Redwood Creek Zip Line

Redwood Creek Rock Wall

Matterhorn

Along with going to Disneyland today, it's also Mother's Day. Alli was giving T some love on the tram. "I love you mommy."

Jacob met us at the park and surprised T with one of her favorite snacks. Rice Krispy Treats! Yum!

One bag is a single serving, right?

To start our day, Jacob and I took the kids on Mater. Alli is loving her hat. It's Angel from the Lilo and Stitch series. Alli really loves her because she's pink. The reasoning for the rest of our hats will become clear soon.

Ian always wants a green-eyed baby tractor and he was quick to find one today.

Over at Luigi's, Alli and I took a ride in Luigi's cousin Pasquale.

Ian sprinted over to Sophia because he likes the cars with luggage racks.

Continuing our tour of Cars Land, Jacob, Ian, and I took a spin on Radiator Springs Racers.

We won!

Okay, time for the 42" rides. Between this and Grizzly River Rapids, Ian's been asking to ride this for at least a year.
The theme for today's hats are all related to those 42" rides. For a sky school you obviously need an old school leather aviator helmet. This one is complete with Mickey ears and came from Disney's California Adventure back in the early days of Soarin over California.

Check of the height and yep he makes it!

All loaded up! Ian asked if this one was going to go upside down. He's ready, but none of the rides for his height go inverted yet.

Look at that smile from the end of the ride.

Again!

While we were off doing our thing, Alli and Theresa were going under the sea and visiting Ariel.

Uncle Jacob took Ian on his 2nd ride while I went off to find the girls.

Next is the ride that he's been begging to go on. Can you believe there weren't any other volunteers to go with us?

The cast members here got a big kick out of seeing an official Grizzly River Run hat. It's from the very early days of California Adventure and I haven't seen another one since. When they learned it was Ian's very first time on this ride they made sure he had a stack of stickers to celebrate.

All loaded up and ready to go.

Look at that grin. This boy is a thrill seeker.

Loved it!

We got a little wet, but those ponchos helped.

He went back to the cast member at the entrance and told them how much he liked the ride. They were surprised he was so dry.

Next on the list was the zip line in the Redwood Creek Trail.

Then over to the climbing wall. He likes being tall.

Is this really his first time? He's doing pretty good!

He even caught himself when his feet slipped.

Over by the stage, Chip and Dale were making Mother's Day cards. Kids could get a card for their mom and color it with them. Nice job Chip.

Just coloring next to 2 chipmunks like it's something you do every day.

Looks great buddy! I'm sure she'll love it.

We found Theresa and the rest of the group over in Disneyland. Haunted Mansion was next on our list but after entering the lobby and loading into the elevator, the doors were starting to close when all of the sudden a cast member came in and had us get out. Shortly after that all the lights came on and we were evacuated.

Just have to wrap this day up with one more ride and Ian will have done them all. Tall enough here too.

Unfortunately despite my extensive hat collection, I don't have a hat for the Matterhorn. The Wampa from Star Wars will have to stand in for the Yeti.

Ian's in the front seat and ready!

Here I thought a regular ride down the Matterhorn was uncomfortable due to the seat redesign. I didn't think it could get worse. Well, leaning forward to hold Ian's hand and keep him from crashing around too much gave me some new insight. Being that close to the headrest means your face makes contact with it during the sudden stops. Lovely.

I ask if he liked it and of course he said yes. Did you like seeing Harold the Yeti? Ian - "I was closing my eyes." Ha. We can work on that next time.

It was a great time at Disneyland today. Ian's excited to have so many new rides he can go on.

Later we'd head home to celebrate Mother's Day with T. It was a fun day!